GEORGE NEWS - Taxi commuters in George were urged to find alternative ways to get to work on Monday and Tuesday, 21 and 22 November, as members of the Codeta Disadvantaged Taxi Association participated in the national strike that was announced earlier by the SA National Taxi Council (Santaco).
A spokesperson for Codeta George, Arnold Pietersen, told George Herald on Sunday afternoon that they would participate in the strike as members of Santaco in the Western Cape.
Santaco arranged the strike to protest an announcement that the provincial government's Blue Dot taxi programme will end later this month. The programme incentivises drivers to cultivate good driving habits.
According to Pietersen the local strike action was also related to the recent impounding of various of their taxis.
In George there were no fireworks and commuters could still use transport from the Uncedo Taxi Association and Go George, that operated without any incidents.
However some felt that the taxi standstill took not only food and money from the drivers of the taxis but also those who could not go to work due to the strike.
"It's a shame most of the people using taxis to get to work are their [the taxi drivers'] brothers, fathers and cousins," Mandy Arries commented on George Herald's Facebook post about the strike. "I hope those who participate on the strike, leave us to use our relatives and friends to go to work. We can't afford to be absent at work at this time of the year. For us, no work no pay," said another commuter, Zuki Maseti.
In Cape Town, Khayelitsha residents were left stranded on Monday morning when the taxi strike got underway and a Golden Arrow bus and a My-Citi bus were torched in the township.
No damages were reported in George, but a slight increase in traffic was noticed on Monday morning as business and home owners opted to collect their staff themselves.
Uncedo did not have any comment regarding the strike.
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